Missoula Federal Credit Union

Important Update!

Work on our Southside branch is moving right along, and the crew is ready to begin digging up a portion of our parking lot. Starting Monday, April 20th, access to our Southside branch drive up will be ONLY via DORE Lane… you will not be able to drive through the parking lot to get to the drive up. Lobby visitors can still park in the parking lot, but you won’t be able to exit to Dore Lane.

We apologize for the inconvenience this change will cause, and ask for your patience as we improve this branch to serve you better.

Tags: southside

While the temporary door for lobby access during construction has been put on hold (waiting for our final building permits) we have begun other elements to keep the project moving and on time. The injection well for our ground source cooling has been drilled and the extraction well will begin this week.

The work on the drive up has begun with the removal of the old drive up equipment. Much of it will be inspected, refurbished and reused (along with the addition of three more drive up tubes).

We will begin removal of 16 trees soon in order to begin preparing the site for excavation. It will be sad to see these beautiful trees be cut down, however, it’s just not economically feasible to attempt to transplant them. We are going to be able to reuse some of the birch trees for some really nifty interior décor our designer is working on and have some of the pine trees planed down to be used in a bench and writing desk in the lobby.

One of our visions for this property is as a “park-like” setting, so we will be replacing them with 31 new trees, 269 new shrubs and 276 perennials! Of course, the plantings will occur at the very end of the project once the construction has moved to the interior finishing stages….that way the new trees, shrubs and plants will have their irrigation ready and they won’t risk getting squashed by construction equipment.

Tags: southside

We’ve had a few questions from our members about why we’re constructing a new building in the midst of a down economy.

This project has been part of our strategic plan for the past 4 years. Our Board and Management saw several years ago that we would be in need of upgraded, additional facilities in the coming years and prudently began planning for it by building up our capital and exploring a variety of options to fill our needs.

The time has come and we have literally run out of room. We have staff temporarily housed in the basement at Fairway who will be losing their office space when that lease runs out next year. We have filled the Southside Branch to overflowing and need to hire additional back office staff, but have no place to put them. We have departments split up and working in different locations… all of which can impact the speed and efficiency of the service we are able to provide our members. This is unacceptable to our Board and Management, hence the construction project. We will be remodeling the current Southside Branch building, adding a two-story building (with basement) to the front of it and turning the Training Center back into a drive up facility with 6 updated teller tubes, 2 ATMs and a night drop. (This will double our drive up capacity and reduce wait times for our members.)

This is actually a GREAT time for us to build. Prices have declined significantly since we started planning the project (down nearly $2 million!) so we are getting an even better deal for our members. Construction has come to a significant slow-down, so we are providing a “local stimulus” by keeping local contractors employed through these difficult times. Whenever possible we have used local (Missoula and W. MT) contractors. Some services (steel fabrication for example) are not available locally, so we had to go outside the area for that. We have used a local architectural and engineering firm and a local general contractor.

Tags: southside

The dust has barely settled from our Russell branch construction, but we just can’t wait any longer to start our next project. Our branch at 3600 Brooks (the ‘Southside’ branch) will be getting a major facelift over the next year. And the first phase of that project is about to begin.

Phase 1: During the last week of March, work will begin on the building that has been acting as our Training Center, just east of the Southside branch. We’re going to convert that building back into a functioning drive-up, complete with video links to the tellers inside.

Part of this first phase of work will also involve cutting a door into the south side of our current branch (closest to Dore Lane) to allow access to the existing lobby during construction.

Phase 2: We’ll build a two-story (plus basement) addition on the north side of the existing building (closest to Brooks). This addition will allow more of our administration to work in one spot, which will certainly make it a whole lot more efficient. This phase will take the longest, but it will be the most visible change.

Phase 3: Once the front part of the new building is complete, we’ll convert the current building (which by then will be the ‘old’ building) into a training center. The new facility will allow us to expand our current seminar offerings, and hopefully give us a spot where our entire staff can meet at once.

We’ll try to keep everything accessible and moving during this project, but it will be a tad disruptive. Please watch for signs to direct you, or feel free to visit our other branches.

Tags: southside